The concept of the medical home is an old one, developed in the 1960s for the pediatric population, but lately has grown in popularity. It hopes to provide for patients comprehensive, coordinated care for the whole person. The primary care medical home is showing to be a promising model for transforming the organization of healthcare as the ACA begins to take shape.

The traditional method of physician reimbursement has been challenged as pay-for-performance and quality measures have been given the proverbial seat at the table. They have found in Taiwan that although the initial results of a P4P system appears promising, further analysis shows the program susceptible to misreporting and cherry-picking.

The debate on work hours for physicians in training and its effect on medical mistakes has been well documented and hotly debated for well over a decade. The educational curriculum may proveto be the more pressing issue as a recent study was able to illustrate the poor process measures of diabetic care between residents and physicians.

Despite spending more per capita on healthcare than any other nation, the United States remains in the middle of the pack for many important health markers. One area where the US can breath a sigh of relief is in the care of cancer patients.

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About Nii Darko, DO, MBA

Nii Darko, DO, MBA earned his medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences and his MBA from Rockhurst University. Dr. Darko trained in Trauma/Critical Care at University of Miami/Ryder Trauma Center. Currently, he practices in Pennsylvania. He began writing for Policy Prescriptions® in 2012. Contact: Facebook | Twitter | More Posts

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